Man who threw woman to her death found guilty

A South County man was convicted yesterday of second-degree murder for throwing his former girlfriend to her death from an apartment balcony.

Eduardo Duarte also was found guilty of child endangerment, Deputy District Attorney Chandra Reid said.

Duarte, 38, faces a maximum penalty of 25 years to life in prison at a hearing that Chula Vista Superior Court Judge David M. Rubin set for Jan. 14, Reid said.

The prosecutor argued during Duarte's trial that he killed Ana Valdez, 41, because he was angry that she was dating another man.

Valdez's 12-year-old daughter saw the fight, which occurred at 7 a.m. April 11 in an apartment on Via Tonga in Otay Mesa.

Duarte's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jack Hochman, told the jury that Duarte should be convicted of a lesser crime because he never meant to kill Valdez. Duarte threw Valdez off the balcony in a rage after he found another man in her bedroom and she taunted him, Hochman said. Duarte and Valdez had a 3-year-old son, and Duarte had hoped to get back with Valdez, Hochman said. –R.H.

The effort is called “Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest." The checkpoint will be at Ninth Street and Palm Avenue from 7 tonight to 2 a.m. tomorrow.

Sheriff's officials say vehicles driven by those without a license or on a suspended license will be placed on a 30-day hold. Storage can cost up to $1,500.

Funding for the checkpoint was provided by the Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. –J.Z.

Blaze at dry cleaner
is extinguished quickly

SAN DIEGO: San Diego firefighters responded to a fire at a dry cleaner on Market Street near 42nd Street last night and had it knocked down in a few minutes.

Flames were seen coming out of a window about 8:40 p.m., and the fire was extinguished about five minutes later.

Hazardous materials officials were called because of the dry-cleaning chemicals inside. A San Diego Fire-Rescue Department dispatcher said at 10 p.m. that the HazMat team was still on the site. –S.S. and M.R.